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Female pharaoh's mummy identified

This handout photo released on Wednesday shows a head X-ray of the mummy of 18th Dynasty Queen Hatshepsut at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. PHOTO: EPA/THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL

The long-overlooked mummy of an obese woman who probably suffered from diabetes and liver cancer has been identified as Queen Hatshepsut, ancient Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh, Egyptian archeologists said.

A single tooth was key to solving one of the greatest mysteries of ancient Egypt, said Zahi Hawass, the country's antiquities chief.

If fully confirmed -- DNA tests are still ongoing -- the discovery could be the most significant find since the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, experts say.

Hatshepsut ruled for 20 years in the 15th century BC, dressing like a man and wearing a fake beard. A monumental builder, she wielded more power than Cleopatra and Nefertiti, who unlike her never took the title of pharaoh.

But when she died, all traces of her mysteriously disappeared, including her mummy.

In 1903, a mummy was found lying on the ground next to the sarcophagus holding the mummy of the queen's wet nurse in a tomb in the Valley of Kings burial ground in Luxor. For decades, that mummy was left unidentified and remained in the tomb because it was thought to be insignificant.

A year ago, Hawass began a search for Hatshepsut's mummy. At the same time, the Discovery Channel, which is to broadcast a documentary on the find next month, gave Egypt US$5 million to set up a DNA lab to test mummies. The lab was established in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Two months ago, the unidentified mummy was brought from Luxor to the museum for DNA testing. Hawass said his first clue that it could be the lost queen was the position of the left hand on her chest -- a traditional sign of royalty.

Experts then made a stunning match. A tooth that had been found in relic box displaying Hatshepsut's insignia and containing embalmed organs fit a gap in the mummy's jaw. Still uncompleted DNA testing also has shown similarities between the mummy and the mummy of Hatshepsut's grandmother, which was identified previously.

"We are 100 percent certain" the mummy belongs to Hatshepsut, Hawass said.

On Wednesday, Hawass unveiled both mummies -- Hatshepsut's and her wet nurse. The mummies were displayed inside glass cases draped with Egyptian flags. Hatshepsut's linen-wrapped mummy was bald and much larger than the slim, child-size mummy of the wet nurse, Sitr-In, which had rust-colored locks of hair.

Hatshepsut is believed to have stolen the throne from her stepson, Thutmose III, who scratched her name from stone records in revenge after her death.
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